Velvet voice of Garfunkel to be heard at the Ritz

Boyhood buddies turned musical hitmakers Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon ended their highly publicized rift last year, crossing their bridge over troubled waters en route to their first national tour together in 20 years.

Round two of the Old Friends tour resumes next month in Albany, N.Y., with 20 U.S. summer shows and 11 European concerts already scheduled, but Garfunkel has not been sitting idle between tours or recordings with his pal Rhymin' Simon.

The 62-year-old singer with the velvet countertenor voice and curly red hair, who will be in concert tomorrow night at the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, has released a dozen solo albums in the last 34 years and has hit the charts with such tunes as "All I Know," "I Only Have Eyes for You," and "Bright Eyes."

He also has enjoyed success as an actor, from the big-screen films Carnal Knowledge, Catch-22, and Boxing Helena to TV appearances on American Dreams and Arthur.

Garfunkel's latest solo recording is "Everything Waits To Be Noticed," released on EMI Records in October, 2002.

The disc, recorded with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, features six tunes co-written by Garfunkel. The song "Perfect Moment" was featured on the TV show Felicity.

"I believe [the album] came out good," Garfunkel said. "I want this album to be appreciated."

He said he needs to make room in his "top 25" life achievements for "Everything Waits To Be Noticed," a list on which the first two spots are his marriage to Kim Cermank and becoming a parent to their son James, now 13.

Garfunkel has said he is proud and grateful for his years with Simon, with whom he has sold more than 40 million albums and earned 12 Grammy Awards. The duo's "Greatest Hits" album recently was honored for selling more than 14 million copies.

In the April 15 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Simon and Garfunkel were named one of the "50 immortals" in music history. The magazine's tribute was penned by James Taylor, who wrote that "Art Garfunkel is one of those great, rare voices. I would know it anywhere at the drop of a hat, in half a bar. Art inhabits the songs like Louis Armstrong did."

In his spare time, Garfunkel enjoys taking long solo treks. He has walked across the continental United States - walking when he has time off, then picking back up where he left off - and is currently in the midst of a hike across Europe.

Art Garfunkel will be in concert at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the Ritz Theatre, 30 South Washington St., Tiffin. Tickets, $33 to $44, are available from the box office, 1-419-448-8544.